PA SILC LAUNCHES LEGISLATIVE WATCH

Free tools will help disability community track legislation

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 4, 2007 ­– The Pennsylvania Statewide Independent Living Council is proud to announce the launch of the PA SILC Legislative Watch.  The free email distributed each Friday provides a comprehensive, but easy-to-use report of disability-related bills in the Legislature that SILC is following.  In addition, a brief daily email will describe any legislative action that occurred the previous day for bills being tracked.      

“Monitoring and tracking the vast amount of legislation affecting people with disabilities is one of our core responsibilities,” said Corey L. Rowley, Executive Director of the PA SILC.  “We want to share the Legislative Watch with our partners and all members of the disability community.  We hope everyone finds that it is a useful tool for following what is happening in Harrisburg and responding quickly and effectively to improve the lives and independence of people with disabilities.” 

The PA SILC Legislative Watch email distributed each Friday will provide the following:

• Bill number
• Prime sponsor
• Brief description of the bill
• Last legislative action
• Current status of the bill
• Link to the bill on the Legislature’s website
• SILC’s position on each bill including support, oppose, or following

Following indicates the SILC is tracking the bill and an official position may be taken at a later time

“Through hard work and collaboration, the disability community has successfully influenced legislative passage of many important bills,” said Mathew Seeley, Policy Coordinator for the SILC.  “There is still a tremendous amount of work to be done.  We hope the disability community finds the weekly PA SILC Legislative Watch and the daily updates to be a valuable resource for achieving our collective goals.” 

If you would like to receive the PA SILC Legislative Watch please call the PA SILC at 717-364-1732.

The first edition of the PA SILC Legislative Watch is attached.  Regular Friday distribution will begin following this Easter weekend. 

ABOUT PA SILC

The Pennsylvania Statewide Independent Living Council (PA SILC) is a nonprofit, cross-disability, consumer-controlled organization dedicated to securing public policies that ensure civil rights for people with disabilities by supporting the independent living philosophy. 

The PA SILC was established in 1987 to comply with the federal "Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1986" (P.L.99-506), which requires states to create a consumer-controlled advisory committee to the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation's Independent Living Program.  In 1992, the federal Rehabilitation Act Amendments gave SILC co-signing authority on the federally-mandated State Plan for Independent Living (SPIL).

In compliance with state and federal law, a majority of the voting PA SILC members are persons with disabilities and are appointed by the Governor.  Additional representatives are from Centers for Independent Living, consumer or independent living organizations, and various state agencies.